In the field of computer hardware and software technology, a virtual machine is a software implementation of a machine (computer) that executes program instructions like a real machine. Virtual machine technology allows for the sharing of, between multiple virtual machines, the physical resources underlying the virtual machines.
Typically, in virtual machine environments, an individual agent is required for each virtual machine. The agent provides a data utility with access to the contents of the virtual machine. However, because there are a number of virtual machine venders, each agent typically comprises proprietary software module and proprietary software tools. Moreover, the shear number of agents can be burdensome to system operators.